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China may be opening its doors to US imports of Viptera GM corn but now Turkey has barred imports of US distillers grains over GMO contamination

EXCERPT (item 1): Sources said that even though China's bio-safety committee had cleared the strain from a food safety standpoint, the agriculture ministry needed to give its stamp of approval. "The final decision will probably come in January or February next year," said one of the trading sources at a state-owned trading firm… "Even if authorities give in and clear the strain, there are other strains of GMO corn grown in the U.S. which have not been approved for import and could still be used to restrict shipments," said the first trade source.

1. UPDATE 2 - China approves Syngenta's Viptera corn - reports
2. Turkey bars imports of US DDGs, amid industry spat

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1. UPDATE 2 - China approves Syngenta's Viptera corn - reports

by Tom Polansek, Mark Weinraub, and Niu Shuping
Reuters, Dec 17, 2014
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/17/corn-china-syngenta-ag-idUSL1N0U01AZ20141217

Chinese authorities have informed some agriculture industry officials the government has approved U.S. imports of a type of genetically modified corn developed by Syngenta AG, according to reports from Agri-Pulse and Bloomberg.

However, three sources at large Chinese importers told Reuters they had not received notice about an impending approval, instead suggesting a sudden big order of U.S. distillers grains, a corn by product, had fuelled expectations of a breakthrough.

The sources said that even though China's bio-safety committee had cleared the strain from a food safety standpoint, the agriculture ministry needed to give its stamp of approval.

"The final decision will probably come in January or February next year," said one of the trading sources at a state-owned trading firm.

China's Agriculture Ministry declined to comment and a Syngenta spokesman said in an email the firm would make an announcement on the import approval of Agrisure Viptera corn, known as MIR 162, when it receives official documentation.

Syngenta said on Friday it was expecting China to clear imports soon.

The timing of Beijing's approval of the MIR 162 corn strain is sensitive for industry participants as Beijing has rejected more than 1.2 million tonnes of U.S. corn in the past year due to commingling of the unapproved variety in shipments.

Global grain handlers Cargill Inc and Archer Daniels Midland Co, along with dozens of U.S. farmers, have sued Syngenta for damages over rejections. They claim the seed company misled the farm industry about the timeline for approval by China, a major importer.

The issue has also created turmoil in the U.S. distillers' grain (DDGS) market, as import restrictions of the product in July led Chinese orders to grind to halt.

However, industry sources said unexpected import orders of DDGS from Chinese buyers was a sign that an approval was imminent.

Chinese firms last week bought as much as 900,000 tonnes of DDGS from the United States, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC), a state think-tank, said.

Industry sources said a majority of the cargoes were purchased by state-owned COFCO, which could have been tipped off about an imminent approval of MIR 162 corn.

COFCO traders declined to comment.

COFCO booked the cargoes a week earlier at about $250 per tonne before prices jumped to $320 per tonne, including freight and cost, said another source with a big buyer.

TAMING EXPECTATIONS OF CHINESE IMPORTS

Expectations of an imminent approval of MIR 162 helped lift U.S. corn futures to five-month highs on Monday. Front-month March corn was down 0.12 percent to trade at $4.05-1/2 a bushel.

But traders and analysts cautioned the market may be being too optimistic about Chinese demand, as high corn stocks held by the state reserve would likely curb the country's import appetite.

"Even if authorities give in and clear the strain, there are other strains of GMO corn grown in the U.S. which have not been approved for import and could still be used to restrict shipments," said the first trade source.

Another Syngenta genetically modified variety known as Agrisure Duracade, which U.S. farmers harvested for the first time this autumn, has not been approved for import in China.

Traders China was also unlikely to issue more import quotas outside the current low-tariff quotas for corn, set at 7.2 million tonnes, of which 40 percent will go to private companies. (Reporting by Tom Polansek and Mark Weinraub in Chicago and Niu Shuping in Beijing; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Matthew Lewis and Ed Davies)


2. Turkey bars imports of US DDGs, amid industry spat

Agrimoney.com, 12 Dec 2014
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/news.php?id=7786

Turkey has put a stop to its soaring purchases of US distillers' grains, tightening up enforcement of regulations on genetically modified crops, even as China appears to be reopening to the corn product.

Turkey has, as of Monday; ...[and] "is effectively no longer accepting" imports of US distillers' grains (DDGs), [and has] rejected three cargos as of Monday, and prompting a fourth cargo to be diverted to another destination, the US Grains Council said.

The move closes off the sixth largest importer of US DDGs and one of the fastest growing, with volumes soaring 54% to 385,431 tonnes in the first 10 months of the year, overtaking Canada, according to the council.

And it represents a second blow to US hopes for exports of DDGs, a high protein feed ingredient made as a by-product of ethanol manufacture, after China in June said it would not issue any fresh import permits, and then demanded that shipments be guaranteed free of a Syngenta genetically modified trait, MIR 162, which had been approved in Washington but not Beijing.

The Chinese measure followed the rejection of some imports on US corn, on grounds of containing MIR 162.

"Internal issues"

The Turkish move, too, has been spurred by biotech concerns, with the rejections "following the detection of GM events", the USGC said.

Turkey has cleared 16 genetically modified corn types, but none since February 2012, "meaning any event introduced since that time is not approved".

The cargo rejections appear to follow complaints from within Turkey by companies which do not use DDGs, which are in some cases a cheap alternative to soymeal, of which the country is increasing its production.

"Internal issues are the apparent cause of new enforcement measures that are leading to these rejections," the council said.

"One factor is that some companies inside Turkey that do not import DDGs have encouraged the Turkish government to increase its oversight of those that do import DDGs."

A report overnight by the US Department of Agriculture bureau in Ankara pegged Turkish soymeal output in 2014-15 at 475,000 tonnes, a record high and 80,000 tonnes above the official estimate.

"Provided favourable [soybean] crushing margins continue, domestic soymeal production is expected to remain high as crushers will continue to utilise the large underutilised capacity," the bureau said.

Chinese retreat?

The fact that Turkey's clampdown represents a step-up in existing laws makes a reversal unlikely, the USGC.

"Because US DDGs [are] now being rejected under existing law, options for quick recourse are limited," the council said, adding that it was seeking [to] "find an appropriate solution and reopen the market".

Turkey's move, ironically, comes amid rumours of China relaxing its import restrictions

"Talk persists of China getting close to accepting some US DDGs," broker CHS Hedging said, also noting "talk of decent container DDG business for export".

At Chicago-based Futures International, Terry Reilly noted "rumours that China may soon resolve the DDGs import restrictions escalated again on Thursday".